How to check a lawyer's license in Virginia
How to search the Virginia State Bar lawyer directory and read its class, status, public discipline and suspension columns. Based on the Virginia State Bar lawyer directory as it appeared on 14 September 2026. This is a guide to reading an official record, not legal advice.
Updated October 3, 2026 · No named lawyer review is recorded · AI-assisted content, not yet reviewed by a lawyer
Key points
- Search the Virginia State Bar directory by bar ID or by name.
- The results table shows public discipline and current suspensions as their own columns.
- Check Class as well as Status: an Associate member is in good standing but not an active practitioner.
Who regulates lawyers in Virginia
The Virginia State Bar is the state agency that regulates lawyers in Virginia. Its lawyer directory is the official record.
How to search
The search form has fields for Bar ID number, first name and last name, and the name fields match any part of the name. You can also filter by status, type, public discipline, suspension type and date of license. Leave the filters alone unless you need them: a name or a bar ID is enough.
What the results show
Everything is in the results table; there is no separate profile page. The columns are Bar ID, Full Name, Class, Type, Status, City, State, ZIP code, Has Been Publicly Disciplined, Current Suspensions, and Date of License.
How to read it
Status says whether the member is In Good Standing, Not in Good Standing, Inactive, a Former Member, or Withdrawn. Class describes the kind of membership, for example Active, Associate or Judicial. Has Been Publicly Disciplined is a plain Yes or No. Current Suspensions reads None, or names an administrative or disciplinary suspension. A lawyer you can hire to act for you in Virginia should be an active-class member in good standing with no current suspension.
Tip
Virginia bar IDs are shown with five digits, including leading zeros.
How TheLawyerWorld uses this record
When a lawyer claims a Virginia profile here, we look up the bar number they give us in this same directory and compare the name before a profile is marked verified. A listing on this site is not a license check. An "Unclaimed profile" label means the details came from older public listings and nobody has confirmed them.
Before you rely on it
Official directories change their layout and wording. This guide describes the Virginia State Bar lawyer directory as it appeared on 14 September 2026. If what you see differs, trust the official site. For anything the record does not answer, such as whether a lawyer may act in your type of matter, ask the regulator or the lawyer directly. Source: Virginia State Bar lawyer directory.
Does the Virginia State Bar directory show discipline?
Yes. The results table has a column headed Has Been Publicly Disciplined, with Yes or No, and a separate Current Suspensions column.
What does Associate class mean in the Virginia State Bar directory?
Class describes the type of membership. Associate is a membership class distinct from Active, so check the class as well as the status before assuming a lawyer is actively practicing in Virginia.